Safety cut-off mechanism for gas burners



316,494 Feb. 8, 1927. L HILL,

SAFETY CUT-OFF MECHANISM FOR GAS BURNERS Filed Nov. l, 1933 1,5 ATTORNEYPatented Feb. 8, 1927.

LOUIS Him, or AKRON, OHIO.

SAFETY CUI OFF MECHANISM FOR GAS BURNERS.

Application filed November 1, 1923. Serial No.. 672,043.

My invention relates to safety cut off mechanismfor gas burners, my moreparticular purpose being to provide a device of this type made up of asmall number of parts easily manufactured and assembled and readilystandardized, the operation of the parts being such that whenever theburner flame is, extinguished by a gust of wind or other analogousaccidental cause, so as to have gas flowmg through the burner, thesupply of gas to the burner is automatically cut off.

A special object of my invention is to so constructand arrange thevarious parts that my device as a whole may be treated as an attachment,and as such may be readily placed upon or' 'removed from existlng gasburners of many difl'ferent kinds, now in com-- mon use,:butwithout thenecessityfor any 7 substantial mechanical change in the burner andwithout the use of any tools, except, if necessary, those of thesimplest kind.

A further purpose of my invention is the provision of alarm mechanism ofsimple form, for the purpose of indicating to the operator certainchanges taking place in the condition of the apparatus while the latteris in use, or is bein set for use.

Reference is ma e to the accompanying drawing forming a part of thisspecification, and in which like reference characters indicate likeparts throughout the severalfigures.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a burner suitable for an ordinarygas stove, and provided with a burner equipped with my improve safetycut' oif mecl'ianism.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the mechanism appearing in Figure 1.Figure 3 is a fragmentary section through the casingused for holding thespring op-.

erated plunger and parts immediately associated therewith, used forcontrolling the gas valve.

Figure4 is a section on the line 4-4 of ried by this valve plug is ahandle 11, whereby 1t maybe actuated, in the usual manner. When the.handle 11 occupiesthe position mdicated for it by full lines in Figure1, the gas 1s cut off. lVhen, however, the handle is turned so as tooccupy the posit-ion indi cated for it by dotted lines in Figure 1, gas18 free to flow through the jetpipe 7 into the mixing tube 6, and thenceinto the burner. Thus the operator, in order to turn the gas on or oil,merely grasps the handle 11 and turns 1t from one to the other of itstwo normal positions by full and dotted lines in Figure 1.

Encircling the handle 11 is a collar 12, and connected with this collar,by means of two links 13 and 14, is a sliding rod 15. This sliding rodextends into and is slidable 'rela-.

tively to a casing 16 of substantially cylindrical form. Slidabl mountedwithin the casing 16, and secured rigidly to the sliding rod 15, is apiston 17. This piston is engaged by the adjacent end of a spiral spring18, which is housed within the casing. The spring is always undertension, and tends to force the piston 17 and consequently theslidintegral with it, and extending toward the casing 16. v

The casing 16 is provided with a slot 26, located in proximity to' thelug 25, and so positioned that when the rocking lever 23 is moved fromthe position indicated for it by full lines in Figure 4 to the positionindlcated for it by dotted lines in said figure, the lug 25 extendsthrough the slot 26.

The rocking lever is at itslower end provided with a beveled portion 27,and adjacent this portion is a spring arm 28, secured in position by afastenin 29 and carrying a metallic weight 30, serving as bell clapper.The spring arm is further rovided with two loops 31 and 32 bentslightly. upward as indicated in Figure 4;

into which t e lug 25 extends, as indicated in Figure 4. A small bell 34is mountedupon the casing 16, in close proximity to the spring arm '28,and in such position as to I enable it to be struck by. the clapper 30,in

the event of the spring arm 28 making a stroke in theright direction forthis purose. P Whenever the piston '17 is moved to the left according toFigure 3, due tothe movement of the handle 11 from its position,indicated by full lines in Figure 1 to its position indicated by dottedlines in said figure, the piston 17 travels past the loo 32, and in sodoing pushes this loop slig tly outward andthen allows it to sprin backabruptly, the net result being that tlie clapper is first moved slowlyaway from the bell 34 and then caused to strike the bell forcibly,

so as to produce an audible sound. This sound isproduced at the instantwhen the piston 17, during its travel to the left according to Figure 3.clears the loop 32, 'so that this 100 inwardly. T e sound of the bellapprises the operator that the piston is at the limit of its traveltothe left according to F igure 3, and consequently that the as isflowing freely. through the valve, an in condition to be lighted.

Whenever the handle 11 is thus turned into the position indicated for itby dotted lines and the flow of gas is thus turned on as just described,the tension of the spring 18 tends to shift the piston to the rightaccording to Figure 3, and thus to cause the valve to close, unless thegas be lighted at the burner. Therefore the operator holds the handle 11in the position indicated'for iti-by dotted lines in Figure 1, andmeantime lights the gas. The burner is thus heated, the temperature ofthe thermostatic through the slot 26 a s bar being raised, so that-theupper portion of the bar according to F1gure3 is moved from the positionindicated for it by full 'lines into the position indicated for it bdotted lines in this figure. The result is that the rocking lever 23 isroclred 1n a counter-clockwisedirection, as indicated by full and dottedlines in Figure 4. Thisv movement causes, the in 25 to extend serve, forthe timebeing, as a stop for the piston 17 Thereupon 'the operatorreleases the handle 11, which now remains in theposition indicated forit by full lines in Figure 1, because the sliding rod 15 can not move tothe right according to Figure 3, so long as the piston 17 rests againstthe lug25.

The gas continues to flow and to burn as long as the various movableparts occu y the respective positions contemplated or them with theapparatus in the condition just described;

-dle 11 in the position indicated for.

can move a slight distance.

an l do not limit myse cient distance to tinguished bya gust of wind orin some analogous manner, so 'as to leave the gas flowing through theburner and escaping unburned. The thermostatic bar 20 now begins to coolrapidly, so that this bar and the rocking lever 23 controllable therebymove from the positions indicated for them by dotted lines in Figures '3and 4 into the positions indicated for them by 'full lines in thesefigures. This movement. of the looking lever-.23 carries the lug 25 tothe left according to Figure 4, and it thereupon rclcases the piston 17.This causes the sliding rod 15 to move suddenly to theright'according-to Figures 1 to .3, inclusive, thus abruptly closing thevalve by turning the handle 11 in a counter-clockwise directionaccording to F igure 1, and leaving the hall:-

it y full lines in this figure. Y

A'shackle 35, shown more particularly in Figures 1 and'2, isrovided'with a screw bolt-36 and is forme and arranged for use therewithas a coupling. 13 means of this coupling the' casing 16 ,anparts-carried thereby, considered collectively as a unit, may bedetachably mounted uponor readily removed from the mixingtube 6. Forthis purpose my device may be considered as an attachment to be placed.upon or removed from gas stoves or analogous apparatus, already in use.j

, he operation of my device may be readily understood from the foregoingdescription. Y Inorder to light the gas, the operator grasps the handle11. and turns it in aclockwise direction until the bell rings. Holdingthe handle in the position it now occupies, the operator lights thegas'and waits until the bell rings again, whereupon he releases thehandle 11. The gas now continues to burn until shut off by a movement ofthe handle. p

The handle 11 may be operated by hand. at time, to eitheropen or closethe valve.

f to the precise mechanism here illustrated and described, as variationsmay be 'made therein without departmg from my invention, the scope ofwhich- L, 1. device of the character described, comprising a gas burner,a mixing tube connected therewith, a jet pi extending into said miringtube for supp ying gas through said mixing tube said burner, a valvevmounted u on said et pipe, mechanism connected wit said valve forclosing the same, I

a spring connected with said last mentioned mechanism, a casing m whichsaid spring is vhoused, said casing being provided with an opening, alever carried by said casing and journaled to rock, said lever beingprovided wlth a lug, located adjacent said opening in said casing, sothat said lever can prevent said spring from causing the closure ofsaidmostatic bar being located adjacent said burner in order to be actuatedby heat therefrom.

1 2. A device of the character described comprising a gas burner, a jetpipe for supplying gas to said gas burner, a valve mounted upon said jetpipe for controlling the flow of gas thcrethrough, mechanismv connectedwith said valve for closing the same, a spring connected with said lastmentioned mechanism, a casing in which said spring is housed, saidcasing being provided with an opening, a lever mounted upon said casingand journaled to rock, said lever being provided with a lug locatedadjacent said opening in said casing, said lever being so located as toenable saidlug to prevent said spring from causin the closure of saidvalve, and heat control ed mechanism carried by said casing andconnected with said lever for the purpose of actuating said lever.

3. A device of the character described comprisin a burner, a' jet pipeconnected with said urner for supplying gas thereto, a valve for openingand closing said jet pipe, a casing mounted adjacent said valve andhaving asubstantially tubular form, a

sliding rod sliding into said casing and movable relatively thereto,connections from said sliding rod to said valve for enabling said valveto be actuated by said sliding rod, a spring having a generalcylindrical form and fitted into vsaid casing, said spring beingconnected with said sliding rod in order to move *said sliding rod andthis close said valve, a lever for holding said sliding rod in apredetermined position against the tension of said spring, andthermostatic mechanism connected with said lever for the purpose ofreleasing said spring, said thermostatic mechanism being locatedadjacent said burner and controllable by'heat therefrom.

v Signed at Akron, in the county of Summit and State of Ohio, this 30thday of October, 1923.

LOUIS HILL.

